Gavin
by Strikepenguin5
Summary: A new kind of Clan 'Mechwarrior waits for the resurgence of the Crusade, but still wonders about the true goals of his clan. Ch. 4 up: Gavin decides to spend an evening at the restaurant Rika plays at, only to run into his C.O. (R&R, pls)
1. Night of Music

            The night sky over Labrea was cloudy, dull, and it matched Star Commander Gavin's mood perfectly.  As he walked through the nearly-empty streets of St. Vincent, his boots crunching stray rubbish from an overturned garbage can, Gavin couldn't help grumbling to himself about the sheer inactivity he had faced recently.  

            _Stravag politics, stravag Wolves, and stravag anything else keeping us on this planet!_  After being assigned to the prestigious Sixth Jaguar Dragoons, Gavin had spent the past several months doing nothing but cooling his heels on Labrea.  The heavy pistol mounted on his gunbelt slapped repeatedly against his thigh as Gavin continued to double-time his way down the street.  A cool breeze, brought on by the unusual cold front hanging over St. Vincent, snaked its way along the empty street to bite around Gavin's armored uniform jacket and through his fatigues.  The weather wasn't helping, either.  The only good thing about the dark weather was the brilliant way his _Night Gyr_ lit up during daily maneuvers.  The sight of the massive 'mech shrouded in the brilliant light display of its laser heat sinks was almost worth the lack of combat Labrea was suffering from.  

            Word had come through the grapevine that a new ilKhan was being elected on Strana Mechty.  Gavin was sincerely hoping that would be the case.  A new ilKhan meant a resumed invasion.  Since Lincoln Osis once commanded the Sixth, any invasion while he was Khan –maybe even ilKhan– meant the Sixth would see plenty of action.  

            Gavin had decided long ago that the only reason he supported the crusader cause was because it gave the Clans more opportunities to fight and win honor and glory.  What more could a Warrior want?  Certainly not a new, and presumably peaceful Star League.  What most of humanity considered a golden age, even what the Clans considered a golden age, was to Gavin's mind a time that a true Warrior, bred to fight and win, dreaded.  

            Thinking was not something many of his fellow warriors spent time doing.  Certainly not much thinking of this sort.  Gavin always kept his thoughts –his private personal, non-warrior related thoughts– to himself.  The other warriors might consider him strange or even treasonous if they knew what he was thinking.  

            Up ahead, a stream of light from an unshuttered window and an ajar door announced to the entire deserted street that here, at least, was human activity.  Bored out of his mind, and tired of being chilled by the wind, Gavin decided to go inside, even if the place was full of dirty freebirths.  

            The signs on the door and above the window proclaimed this establishment to be a highly reputable one, a restaurant that some of the higher-echelon warriors occasionally frequented and one that was run personally by a merchant casteman from the clan homeworlds.  As Gavin stepped in the door he noticed that the place was practically deserted, with the exception of a couple that looked to be Gavin's own age in a corner booth, busily staring into each other's eyes.  One of the staff lounged about in a chair by a tall lectern with a few pages on it.  The main dining hall was practically deserted, and the small stage in the center was taken up by a massive black shape that stood on three legs.  It had a kind of hood that was raised up from the main body at an angle, and a bench sat at one end of the thing.  Just as bored as before, Gavin was about to leave –the waiter had not even noticed him yet– when a shapely woman in a long, dark-blue, sparkling dress walked out of a side door and up onto the stage.  

            _Maybe there is some point to staying in this place after all._  Gavin walked over to the maitre-d and spoke.

            "One.  By the stage."  The attendant turned and jumped, startled by this Clan warrior who bore the insignia of a Star Commander, was wearing a heavy pistol, and had just walked out of what was turning into a stormy night.

            "Y-yes, er… aff, sir.  Would sir like a list of our wines ah… quiaff?"  Gavin sighed.  The wine list was fine, but the waiter could get annoying quickly.

            "Aff."

            "This way, please."  Gavin followed the waiter to a small, round table by the stage.  Gavin sat down, looked at the empty chair opposite him, and back to the waiter.

            "Ah… will you have anything to drink?"

            "Water.  I will have something later."  The poor agitated waiter gulped nervously, then handed the elegantly decorated menu to Gavin.

            "Our soups tonight are Naranji, Vegetable, and French Onion.  I will be back in a few minutes for your order."  The waiter walked off at an extremely brisk pace, probably glad to be able to get away.  Gavin turned his attention to the woman on stage.  

            She had made a trip back to the side door to retrieve an electronic reader with an screen at least three times the normal size, and several chips for the reader.  She sat down on the bench, flipped on the reader, inserted one of the chips, made a few adjustments to the reader, slid the front of the object up to reveal some kind of primitive keyboard, and touched the keys.

            A slow, solemn, haunting sound drifted into the air as the lights dimmed and spotlights illuminated the stage.  In the extra light, the woman's long, brunette, straight hair shined and the deep blue shade of her dress shimmered brilliantly.  Her thin, strapped dress flaunted a slight build, but with some curves and a well-toned frame that, although it was weak compared to Gavin's muscular build, conveyed its own sense of strength.  Although she played with her back to him, Gavin could still see her strong hands and long fingers as they danced up and down the keys.  The air itself was heavy with the flow, the rise and the fall of the music.  Gavin tilted back in his chair so he could see the screen of her reader.  It was covered with a series of lines, which full of filled and hollowed dots connected and separated at certain intervals.  At the top of the screen were the only words: "Claire de Lune, Debussy" and some kind of number.  Gavin also noticed that her feet, clad in some kind of high-heeled dress shoes, were working a series of pedals mounted on the lower part of the instrument.  Gavin also could not help but notice her shapely calves and the graceful way this woman played her music.

            The waiter returned with a glass of water.  Gavin took one look at the menu, found the largest serving of meat available, grilled Hypa Cattle, ordered a side and some Timbaqui Dark, and returned his attention to the woman, and her music.

            Gavin had never heard anything like the music, or the instrument, this woman played.  It was deep.  It was rich.  It gave him a rush of energy, of passion, similar to the pleasure found during coupling.  But this music struck him in a different way, it was a different kind of pleasure and a different kind of sensation.  

            It was a sensation that was deep and powerful, one that overmatched most of the feelings Gavin had come across during his life.  The music was as large and deep as the depths of space and it took him off the small empty restaurant on Labrea and into a grand world where sound and tone ruled above all.  The melodies and harmonies washed over Gavin like a tidal wave, uprooting his perspective of reality and catching his mind up in a current as graceful as it was powerful.

            The Timbaqui Dark was excellent, the steak was perfectly prepared, and Gavin considered the time well-spent.  When the woman finally finished playing, Gavin found himself suffering from an inordinate amount of questions.  He asked the most sensible one.

            "I am unfamiliar with this instrument.  What is it?"  The woman, apparently surprised by the question, turned around on the bench to address her unknown questioner.  She was more surprised by who had asked the question, a clan 'mechwarrior.

            "Excuse me?"   

            "This instrument.  I have never seen its like before."  She sighed.  His unfamiliarity with the instrument seemed to depress her.  She shut the cover on the instrument and leaned back onto it, crossing her legs as she did so.

            "I'm… I am sorry to say that it is not surprising.  Not many people, even from around here, recognize a Grand Piano when they see one.  People today are used to seeing electro-synths.  Acoustic instruments, like this one, are kind of rare."  

            "It is a… Grand Piano?"

            "Right.  Acoustic pianos in general are hard to find, but Grands, the best ones made, are even harder to find."

            "I see.  That was enjoyable.  I have not heard such music played before."

            "Most of it is really old.  Ancient terran composers.  In fact, four-fifths of this music was written before the invention of the fusion engine.  Probably half of it was written before electricity was used."  Gavin's eyes widened.  That was beyond ancient. 

            "I had no idea.  How old is the instrument… the piano?"  

            "It is several hundred years old.  I have no idea when it was made, but quite possibly before the succession wars.  Maybe even before the Star League."  She uncrossed her legs and stood up from the bench, and walked down the stage steps to the dining floor.  "Do you play an instrument, or are you just interested because you… have never seen a piano before?"

            "Music…  I am interested in it, but I have never heard the kind of music you played.  I have a small composition system, but not much time to use it, and none of my efforts have been successful."  She looked surprised at his last comment.  

            "I can stay and talk if you like…"  She probably thought that sitting down with a clan warrior to talk about music was one of the less likely situations one might come across.  

            "You may sit, if it does not detain you from other duties."  She smiled and sat down opposite him.  "I am Star Commander Gavin."

            "My name is Rika.  I am the resident pianist here."  Among other things, Gavin noticed the v-cut of her dress and the way her brown eyes sparkled.  

            "Where did you learn this instrument?  It was difficult, quiaff?"  She smiled again, her red lips parting to show off dazzling white teeth.

            "I grew up on Labrea.  My parents inherited a piano from some relative who died, and decided that someone should learn to play it.  I was the only one in the family who actually enjoyed the piano, so they paid for my lessons."  Rika's memories of her childhood, and of family life, put Gavin off somewhat.  He was a trueborn warrior, and the life of the average freebirth, even one as skilled an artist as this Rika, was repugnant to him.  "I practiced hard enough, and played long enough, and worked until I was able to play like I can today."

            "How did you gain access to the music?  You said it was very old, and finding something so archaic must have been extremely difficult, quiaff?"  Despite his inner voice screaming that he was conversing with a member of the lower castes, Gavin found himself unable to get out of the conversation.  He was fascinated by this piano, and this piano player, as well as the music she played.

            "Archives of old music can be found on most worlds.  Real pianos are rare, and they are very difficult to transport, and they also take quite a bit of time, and skill, to tune.  Electro-synths do not have the feel of a piano, but they are capable of generating a large number of reasonably accurate sounds.  They also need little tuning or maintenance.  A good ear can tell the difference between an electro-synth and the real instrument, but if you are interested in music, you might want to get one."  Gavin was torn between the possibilities of this conversation.  One part of him dismissed musical performance as pedestrian, below the notice of a warrior and not worth the time and effort.  Another part of him wanted to be able to create the same kind of wonderful sensation Rika had so flawlessly woven from the ivory keys of the piano.

            _I have no use for this.  I am a Clan 'Mechwarrior.  I was bred to fight, not to play some instrument._

            This is one of the few things in life other than combat and coupling that I have enjoyed.  I am already a collector of music.  Why should I not engage in music as I willingly engage in the other things that make my life enjoyable?

            "I think, Rika, that music may be a pursuit worthy of my interest.  I must go now, but is there another time which I may see you?  I wish to know more about this."  Rika, already taken aback by Gavin's interest in music, decided that the situation was so entirely surreal that she might as well grab for the unexpected.

            "I play here most nights.  Would next week, at this time, be good?"

            "Absolutely.  I will be here in one week, unless other duties require my presence.  One can never tell when raiders may strike, or when a trial will come up.  I have enjoyed speaking with you, Rika."  Gavin rose from the table.  "I look forward to next week."

            The weather, although it was still miserable, did not detract from Gavin's mood as he exited the restaurant.  Debussy, Beethoven, Liszt, and many others ran round and round through his head in a euphonious swirl of sound, shortening the return walk through the city to the garrison base.  The long trip to the outskirts of the town gave Gavin plenty of time to ruminate on his thoughts, and to let Rika's music play around in his head.  Gavin even caught himself humming one of the pieces Rika had played as he walked up the steps to the main barracks.  

The building resembled a structure he had seen once or twice in the inner sphere, a parking garage.  The only difference was that this building had windows instead of an open floor.  But comparisons remained.  The ferrocrete was unpainted, and the building seemed to be nothing more than an uninspired square jutting out of the ground.  Although it was an example of solid construction and clean lines, Gavin felt that the building better conveyed rigidity and sterility instead of strength.  Although he knew it was not wonderful to look at, Gavin felt the issue a moot point because it was virtually impossible to see the exterior of the building from the inside.

Of course, the inside of the building was done up in traditional Smoke Jaguar décor as well.  The main lobby, flanked by a pair of guards, was strewn with stiff and uncomfortable gray furniture, its only virtue its ability to have anything spilled on it and look no worse than before.  The whitewashed walls had to make do with only a 'mech holo, a _Timberwolf_, for decoration.  Gavin noted that it was probably the C variant, based on the pair of lasers mounted in one arm and the autocannon in the other.  

The guards acknowledged Gavin's presence and stood aside for him.  Their moves were sloppy and inefficient.  Their uniforms were messy, and their boots unpolished.  In the two guardsmen, Gavin saw a disturbing lack of readiness, a lack of pride, a dearth of the values the Clans held dear.  On the other hand, he would have expected such an attitude from lowly infantrymen, possibly Solahama infantrymen.  Gavin stormed past the two guards, his mind upon the state of his clan.  

The Smoke Jaguars had always been aggressive.  They favored the frontal assault, the quick, fierce strike.  _The Jaguar's spring that brings the enemy down.  The Jaguar's claws that rend the enemy's heart.  The Jaguar's taste for the enemy's hot blood._  But recently Gavin had noticed a change in the Smoke Jaguars.  Perhaps it was the influence of the great Leo Showers and the long political fight for the Great Crusade that had caused the Jaguars to pay as much attention to politics as they did to battles.  Perhaps it was the failings of the previous generation, as so many of his sibkin and instructors had insisted, that had made the Jaguars stumble.  But Gavin had talked to some of the warriors who had returned from Luthien and Tukkayid, and they spoke at length of those disastrous battles.  One of these supposedly weak, disgraced warriors had downed five 'mechs and an equal number of vehicles before his _Stormcrow_ was ripped to shreds by a Com Guard _Shootist_.  Gavin heard tale upon tale of low ammunition, of Jaguar warriors holding their ground while vastly outnumbered, of inner sphere opponents that fought bravely and savagely, of traps and tactics and situations that these supposedly weak warriors had faced and fought through.  

Gavin remembered why he had remained a warrior.  It had been so long ago, and he had been seven years of age.

"Scum! Weak, pathetic trash!  There is not a Jaguar among you!  Work harder, you insects, before I kill you all and save our enemies the trouble!"  The Kit Master, Star Commander Wark, stormed around the Sibko practice area in a rage.  "Clumsy maneuvers!  Weak attacks!  You are the most cowardly pack of Kits I have ever seen!  You would disgrace freebirths the way you wield your weapons!"  Wark grabbed the rounded, wooden sword from the nearest Kit he could find and backhanded the unfortunate Jeanna to the ground.  "All of you stop and pay attention!  The sword is wielded smoothly!  You must be strong to attack, and stronger to counterattack!  You must be the striking Jaguar!  Swords are used with finesse and skill!  Form two lines, one on each side of the field, in equal numbers!"

The Jaguar Kits, not wishing to offend their trainer any more, swiftly complied.

"Face each other!  The Kit directly opposite yourself is your opponent!  Now spread out!"  Gavin glanced across to the other line.  Malcolm faced him.  Malcolm was one of the taller and more aggressive cadets, and he and Gavin had never really liked each other.  The taller boy laced the air with his heavy wooden sword in anticipation.  Gavin prepared himself for a difficult, and quite possibly losing, battle.

"The Kit that loses his sword, falls down, or takes five direct hits is the loser!  The losers will go over there," Wark indicated a series of benches at the side of the practice area, "and watch the winners fight, and perhaps learn something about swordplay from them!  Any Cadet who lies about taking a hit is not worthy of the name of the Jaguar, and I will deal with any such stravag severely!  Now, Kits!"  Wark's voice dropped to a low growl.  "Fight your savashiri hearts out!"

Most of the children charged each other, two sides meeting in a cacophonous clacking of wood on wood.  A few more cautious kits, like Gavin, closed more slowly with their opponents.  Gavin advanced cautiously towards Malcolm, who was literally sprinting towards the shorter boy.  Malcolm's jet-black hair blew crazily as he finally reached Gavin and aimed a devastating blow at him.  The move was so obvious that Gavin saw it coming a meter and a half before Malcolm reached him, but it was still barely enough time for him to dodge the swift wooden arc of Malcolm's sword.  The breeze from the massive down-slash ruffled Gavin's short brown-blonde hair and the whistle and crack of the sword as it hit the ground assaulted Gavin's ear.

Then Malcolm leapt back, shaking his right hand and yelping, his sword in his left hand.  Acting on sheer reflex, Gavin had managed to strike his foe across the hand while he dodged.  Malcolm came charging back, launching a furious set of attacks that Gavin found easy to deflect.  By focusing on his enemy's torso, he could see where Malcolm was going to go and when he was going to attack, and could prepare himself for the other boy's powerful blows.  He was half-expecting the taller boy's sword to shatter in his hand.

Malcolm continued his attacks, his swift, powerful strokes aimed furiously at his smaller sibmate.  Gavin concentrated on dodging Malcolm's heavier blows and deflecting the lighter ones.  The battle was becoming easy, Gavin almost felt like he was watching another Gavin fight Malcolm, he realized he had little to fear.  Gavin swept his sword around and into Malcolm's thrusting _passado_.  The attack deflected, Gavin followed through with his blade and was rewarded with the hollow thump of wood on flesh.  Malcolm's next attack went wide as Gavin directed the oncoming sword up with a tap from his own weapon, then landed a solid hit on Malcolm's thigh.  Malcolm charged directly into Gavin, ensuring that both Kits would have difficulty landing a solid hit on their opponent.  The taller boy bent low and hit Gavin hard on the knee.  The blow hurt, or it should have, but he was too focused on the task at hand.  Gavin whipped his sword down in a short arc that landed soundly on Malcolm's head, then he spun to the left and delivered a blow to the taller boy's back.  Malcolm pitched forward, disoriented from the head shot, his black hair suddenly aged from the dust of the ground.  

"Five!  That is five hits, Malcolm!  You are done!"

Gavin found himself in perfect position, sword at the ready, well-prepared for any attack from Malcolm, covered in sweat, breathing hard, and riding a surge of energy that made his limbs quiver with excitement and energy.  He had defeated Malcolm by five to one.  But what Gavin remembered most about that day was the rush and joy of battle, the defeat of an enemy at his hands.  

Gavin snapped out of his reverie and found himself standing in an _en garde_ position, with his hands clasped around an imaginary sword, outside the door to his room.  Silently laughing at himself, he keyed the code to his quarters and stepped into a drastically changed room.

His small music set was just as it had been, his computer and desk still against the wall where it normally was.  All of his files and documents were in order, nothing in the room had been altered or changed, except for the bed.  

The metal-framed, hard-as-a-rock bed still occupied its normal position.  However, the bed dipped drastically in the center, as if there were some great strain placed on it.  And indeed there was.

The naked woman that lay on top of his bed was sensuous and muscular.  From her well defined arms to her large breasts and massive legs, she emphasized both strength and beauty.  She was also asleep.  Although her head lay on his pillow, her feet were hanging at least twenty centimeters, if not more, off the end of the bed.  She was an Elemental, genetically bred to operate a suit of powered armor.  Her enhanced size and strength enabled her to use the armor to its full potential, she was bred for combat just like Gavin was, but hers was a different kind of fight.  

Gavin walked over to his small closet, let his jacket drop to the ground, and took off his shirt.  As he opened the closet door, it let out a harsh grating noise that flashed pain through his ears and awoke the sleeping giantess from her slumber.  She whirled up from the bed, her massive body little more than a blur, ready for anything.  

"I did not intend to interrupt your sleep in this manner."  She smiled, relaxing her guard stance.

"You are Star Commander Gavin, quiaff?"

"Aff.  I am afraid I do not know you well."

"I am Point Commander Aniya, with Trinary Elemental.  I meant to be awake to introduce myself, but you were late in returning to your quarters."

"I was not aware you would be here.  Had I know otherwise, there would have been little to detain me from arriving here at my normal time."

"'Mechwarrior Kera recommended you.  She said you would not mind the intrusion."  Gavin smiled at this remark.  He had seen a lot of Kera lately.  He undid his boots and unclipped the gunbelt around his waist.  Aniya walked over to him and began massaging his bare back as he continued to undress himself.  Finally, he turned around and stood on his toes as she bent her head down to kiss him.  _The problem with coupling with Elementals_, Gavin thought for a second,_ is that their size makes them almost  as difficult to couple with as to fight unaugmented._  

Gavin flipped off the lights and as the darkness fell upon him, a faint strain of Rika's music flowed softly through his head.  As he and Aniya made love, the music slowly began to grow and grow, until it reached its passionate crescendo long into Labrea's night.


	2. Training like Warriors, part one

            _Drills.  I hate drills.  But drills are necessary._  Star Commander Gavin shook his head as he walked onto the field, clad in the old, black jumpsuit he wore for just such an occasion.  Star Colonel Logan Moon was certainly adamant about maintaining discipline and conditioning.  It was just the sort of thing he would have expected from the Sixth Jaguar Dragoons, and it was part of the price paid for serving in such an elite unit.  

            The field was strewn about with Smoke Jaguar warriors, all clad in the same kind of jumpsuit Gavin wore.  The suits did not heat up like normal clothing did and were extremely durable, making them perfect to work out in.  The warriors had also managed to group themselves together by unit, whether this was a conscious decision was another matter.  Binary Elemental formed a large, very distinct group to the left of the 'mechwarriors, who were themselves organized into roughly three groups.  Although the drills were not scheduled for another fifteen minutes, Gavin observed that he was among the last few stragglers to arrive at the field.  As he approached the 'mechwarriors, who were milling among themselves in conversation, someone recognized him.  

            "Star Commander Gavin, you are among the latest of the early!  You had a good sulk last night, quiaff?"  Gavin grinned to himself.  He did tend to storm through the city when thinking about something.

            "Aff, Star Commander Paulus, and more besides.  As for yourself, you slept well, otherwise you would not have beaten me here, quiaff?"  The other 'mechwarrior laughed, his closely shaven head and broad shoulders shaking in Labrea's morning light.  It was going to be a hot, nearly cloudless day, like most of the days on the planet.  At least it was not Huntress, which stormed so often the garrison there had to wring itself out for review.  

            "Aff, Gavin, aff.  For once I was not lonely enough to seek out some companionship.  As it is, I am now far better prepared for today's drills, though I bear some regret for getting so much sleep last night.  Now I am certain to out-pace you in today's 'mech exercises, quiaff?"

            "Neg, because you are certain to out-pace me no matter how much sleep you gain or I lose.  Your _Summoner_ is faster than my _Night Gyr_, so you have nothing to fear in terms of a race.  If you are worried about being out-paced, go talk to Kera.  Her _Shadow Cat_ will run circles around you."

            "Aye, aye, what you say is only too true.  My piloting ability only takes me as far as my 'mech can.  In drills however, we may out-run each other with impunity."

            "Neg, for there you have to deal with the infantry."  Gavin laughed, thinking of Aniya last night.  "I think my Omnimech might be better powered with one or two of them running to operate a turbine than with a fusion engine."

            "Talk to the scientists, and the infantry.  I am sure both would appreciate your innovation."  The two warriors laughed again, and Gavin turned to look towards the front of the field.  The long, rectangular patch of grass had once been green, but was beginning to suffer from having a cluster's worth of warriors exercise on it daily.  If the grass died off, the warriors would lose the natural surface that worked as well as an exercise pad in breaking falls.  Perhaps the Star Colonel was having a quiet talk with the laborers over the state of his practice field.  

            Gavin looked around to locate the other members of his star.  Charlie Assault Star's 'mechwarriors were quite sociable out of battle, so Gavin expected them to be dispersed among the various groups.  He spotted 'mechwarrior Gareth's dark, shaved head and EI neural implants almost immediately.  'Mechwarrior Lise and 'mechwarrior Hayt were talking with a pair of warriors from Alpha Assault star.  'Mechwarrior Mara took a bit more effort.  Since she was nearly as short as her _Executioner_ was tall, her smaller body was difficult to find among all these generally tall and very muscular warriors.  Finally Gavin spotted her distinctly and decoratively shaved head and single long, golden braid among several warriors from the Battle and Striker trinaries.  Mara had actually gone so far as to shave a rough picture of a Smoke Jaguar into her scalp.  Although Gavin felt it was a proud gesture, it would have been better for her to have black hair or skin, to make the Jaguar the correct color.  With his star accounted for, Gavin returned to conversing with his fellow 'mechwarriors, and waiting for Logan Moon to appear and initiate the day's exercises.  Gavin still couldn't believe his luck at being assigned to command Charlie Star in Alpha trinary.  Star Colonel Moon himself commanded Alpha Trinary, so Gavin's proximity to his superior was unprecedented.  He had the same or better access to Moon than the Star Captains did.  Of course, if Gavin failed in any of his assigned duties, his proximity would become a liability.  

            The Star Colonel's arrival interrupted his thoughts.  

            Star Colonel Logan Moon was as impressive as the _Dire Wolf_ he piloted.  He would have made either a very tall 'mechwarrior or a very short elemental, while his proud bearing and closely cropped hair emphasized his commanding presence.  

            "Warriors, fall in!"  The clan warriors quickly formed into several lines in front of Moon.  Moon stepped down, and Star Captain Joanna Perez, leader of Binary Elemental, took his place.  The massive female elemental drilled the cluster because as a member of the Clans' armored infantry, her experience gave her a better than average knowledge of physical training. 

            As Gavin began performing the series of exercises, his mind wandered freely.  He thought of the practice drills for later today, and his thoughts also drifted to his encounter with the civilian Rika.  He also let his coupling with Aniya run through his mind, thinking about how the experience had differed from past couplings.  It had certainly been enjoyable, but coupling usually was.  He was finally forced to emerge from the private corner of his mind when Perez introduced harder and more complex drills into the routine, movements that took concentration and skill to accomplish.  

            An aerial view of the field would have shown any observer an impressive sight, as a Cluster of warriors moved in uniform, military precision.  They whirled, performed kicks and jumps, series of punches, and good old-fashioned crunches and push-ups as a unit.  Finally, after an hour of punishing calisthenics, martial-arts maneuvers, and exercises, the warriors grouped together into one large mass, with Star Colonel Moon at the front, and began running.  The group slowly stretched out into a long line of warriors in rough ranks of two to four people and followed their officer along a route unknown to them.  Moon had mapped out several paths of varying distance that wound like a snake throughout the base.  It was a common practice to place bets on which route Moon was going to take that day.  Gavin had managed to get next to Paulus in the initial chaos of the run.

            "We were both wrong today, Paulus.  No one wins."  Gavin said in short bursts, his speech marred by his running stride and the need to conserve energy for the run.  Some of Moon's routes took the Cluster ten or eleven kilometers, and the Star Colonel rarely varied the speed at which he ran the day's route.  

            "Aff, it is a pity.  You would think one of us would be right."  Paulus' speech was made just as disjointed as Gavin's was by the run.  

            "Damn!  Today will be a long run.  When the Star Colonel starts heading for the 'mech bay this early in the run, it means we will be going at least nine klicks."

            "Aff.  The extra exertion is going to make piloting more of a challenge today."

            "I do not care.  I can go anywhere Star Colonel Moon can."

            "If not, you may wish you had gotten more sleep last night."

            "Neg, Paulus.  I wish I had slept no more than I did last night."

            "If you say so.  Come, now, we are in danger of falling off."  Gavin looked ahead.  The distance between him and the warrior in front of him was slowly increasing.

            "That is something we will never do.  We are Smoke Jaguars.  We do not fall off."

            "Then let us cease talking."

            "Aff."  The ground ran on beneath the pounding of their feet.  Logan Moon led his cluster over the ferrocrete of the base, out the main entrance, and onto a dirt road that wound over the fields and into a patch of woods close to the base.  He led the Sixth Dragoons along this road through thick foliage and sticky, viscous mud, through narrow streams that trickled and gurgled their way through the forest, and finally out through the woods and into the back of the base.  When Moon finally arrived at the exercise field, he halted and watched his command file into the base.  Elemental and 'Mechwarrior alike were dusty and sweaty from the long run, covered with grass stains from the exercises and sap and honeydew from the trees.  They were filthy, sore, exhausted, dripping with sweat, and in top physical condition.

            The last of his warriors had just ran onto the field and reached his place in the line.  He was proud that his warriors knew to get in parade-ground formation as soon as they reached the field.  Logan Moon walked up to the front of the ranks, and made sure that there was not a gap in any one spot.

            "This ends today's drills!  You are dismissed!"  Slowly the ranks of warriors broke up an headed back to their barracks.  The various Trinary commanders were responsible for working out the rest of the training regimen for their unit, but Star Colonel Moon insisted on having a daily conditioning session for all of his warriors.  Gavin was certain that this was not the way most other units operated, but most other units were not the Sixth Jaguar Dragoons.  

            _Of course, there are plenty of other units seeing more action than we are that are not one of the Clan's premier units._  

            _At least the 'mech drills for Alpha Trinary would make the day bearable._

*

            De-grimed and refreshed, Star Commander Gavin entered the 'mech bay where Alpha Trinary's 'mechs were stationed.  His star, Charlie Star, was stationed towards the end of the building in their separate 'mech cubicles.  Technicians swarmed over the Omnimechs, making last-minute systems checks.  His _Night Gyr_ stood tall and proud, its mottled-gray paint mimicking the coat of the Smoke Jaguar.  Next to it stood Mara's _Executioner_, which was depending on who one talked to, was an elegant 'machine or an oversized toy robot.  Lise's _Warhawk_ was a bird-legged 'machine that looked like it was born to stand up to the rigors of battle.  Another humanoid design, a _Kingfisher_, was piloted by Gareth.   At the end of the bay stood another _Warhawk_.  Hayt was at its feet, talking to the lead technician before mounting his 'mech.

            Walking up to his own design, Gavin relished the smells of the 'mech bay.  Autocannon propellant, coolant, and a host of other odors filled the air, as did the shouts of technicians and the whirr and clank of machinery.  

            "Is everything in order, Tech?"  The technician spun around to face Gavin.

            "Aff, Star Commander.  Everything on your _Night Gyr_ checks out.  Your lasers are powered down to exercise levels, and we loaded the down-powered autocannon rounds and streak missiles for your exercises today.  The standard exercise network is set up as well.  You are good to go, sir."  The exercise network hooked in to the vital systems of all the 'mechs and monitored everything, especially damage.  While powered-down lasers and cannon shells, as well as dummy missiles, ensured that the 'mechs took little actual damage, the network ensured the 'mechs acted like they had taken the full damage from a real weapon.  It could throw the gyro out of phase, shut down the engine, disable a limb or weapon, or even shut down the entire 'mech as if it had taken real damage.  It also freed the pilots from the constraints of simulators.

            Gavin took off his gunbelt and boots, then stripped down to a brief pair of shorts.  He grabbed his neurohelmet and cooling vest off a rack near the _Night Gyr_, then strapped his belt back on and put his boots on as well.  He then put on the thick cooling vest, took his neurohelmet, and started up the gantry to the cockpit of his _Night Gyr_.  

            The _Night Gyr_ was a seventy-five ton Omnimech with the weapons compliment of a heavier design, but unfortunately the movement capabilities of one as well.  Though in the Inner Sphere most of the heavier designs had a maximum speed of sixty-five KPH, that was on the slower side for the clans.  The _Night Gyr_ had the distinction of being one of only two clan Heavy Omnis, the other the brand-new _Nova Cat_, with a maximum speed of only sixty-five KPH.  Its jump capability made up somewhat for the 'mech's lack of speed, but if Gavin could point to one thing he did not like about the _Night Gyr_, it was the smaller engine that let it carry so much weaponry.  

            The weaponry, however, was impressive.  The right arm contained a massive Ultra-20 autocannon, while the left arm carried one large and two medium pulse laser.  A six-rack of streak missiles jutted from both side torsos, and another medium pulse laser was mounted in the head.  The 'mech carried enough ammunition for eighty seconds of combat, although the ammo-conserving properties of the streak missile launchers and the fact that Gavin rarely double-fired its main gun meant it could last much longer.  Sixteen laser heat sinks kept the 'mech reasonably cool, and thick ferro-fibrous armor ensured that he could last long into the fight.  The design was a monument to clan engineering.  Scientists had essentially taken the weapons configuration of a _Kodiak_ and put it on a twenty-five ton chassis, while keeping heat levels low and adding jump capability, and keeping the design well-armored.  The switch to pulse technology meant he lost some range and firepower, but made the laser weapons far more accurate.  The extra accuracy was essential because it allowed the 'mech to jump and fire nearly all its weapons at the same time.  Gavin did not like firing the autocannon until he was guaranteed a good shot, so he rarely risked firing the mammoth gun while jumping.  The ammunition was simply too dear.  But despite its drawbacks, the _Night Gyr_ was designed to get in close and smash the enemy, a tactic that Gavin fully endorsed.  

            Gavin entered the cockpit and settled the neurohelmet on top of his head, making sure the neuro-receptors were situated on the right parts of his skull.  He then hooked his cooling vest into the cockpit's secondary cooling circuit.  The laser heat sinks eliminated the need for a primary coolant system in the _Night Gyr_, but a 'mechwarrior still relied on his cooling vest to keep his mount from roasting him alive.  Since the 'mech mounted a laser in the head, it was absolutely necessary to have a traditional, secondary cooling circuit for the cockpit and sensors, as well as the 'mechwarrior.  Gavin relished the cold sensation rushing across his skin, knowing full well he would still be baking in a few minutes.  Finally he keyed the initiation sequence.  The computer's flat, but recognizably female voice filtered out of the cockpit speakers.

            "Confirm voiceprint pattern."

            "I am Star Commander Gavin."  There was a hint of pride in his voice.

            "Working…"  The computer worked to literally confirm Gavin was who he said he was.  "Pattern match obtained.  State access code."

            "A true warrior's calling is to battle."

            "Code accepted.  May you gain glory today, Star Commander Gavin."  Other warriors might deride it as foolish, but Gavin felt that it never hurt to be wished luck by one's own 'mech.  

            Gavin felt a tremor as his 'mech's fusion engine roared to life.  The cockpit and sensor displays lit up as diagnostic screens began scrolling data on his 'mech's status.  Gavin keyed the radio to his Star's command frequency.

            "Charlie Assault Star, report."

            "Hayt.  Charlie two reporting.

            "Charlie three, Lise.  I am functional.

            "Charlie four, Gareth, reporting in.

            "Mara here.  Charlie five is up." 

            "Aff, Charlie star.  Unit exercises begin in thirty minutes, until then we have spare time for maneuvers and shakedown runs.  Move out."  

            Gavin's command sent five massive Omnimechs lumbering out of the bay.  The quintet of machines gleamed in the bright Labrean sunlight as they marched out of the base and onto the long, gently rolling hills that stretched for miles behind the base, located on the outskirts of St. Vincent.  Gavin knew if he were facing the other way he would see the tallest buildings of the city receding into the distance as his 'mech ate up meter after meter with its long stride.  One of Gavin's secondary displays updated itself as it received new data.  Several navigational points had been added to the tactical map.  

            "Keep in this area.  Whatever the Star Colonel has planned for us, it will be around those nav points.  We would not want to make the other wait, quineg?"

            Gavin began pacing himself through evasive combat maneuvers.  He ran a complicated, twisting path that would have made him a difficult target to hit at any range.  From his tactical display, he could see that his warriors were performing mostly the same kinds of tasks.  Gavin turned his interest back to his own movements.  He swung his _Night Gyr _around and prepared to run another pattern.  Time slipped by with the speed of a _Firemoth_, and soon Gavin's radio crackled.

            "This is Star Colonel Logan Moon.  Bravo star is to proceed to nav point one.  Alpha Star will take positions at nav point two.  Charlie Star, you will wait at nav point three."  Gavin was disappointed at the news.  Whatever the Star Colonel had in mind, he had to wait for it.

            Nav three was a full two kilometers south of navs one and two, which were themselves a kilometer apart.  Labrea's flat terrain ensured that Charlie star could still see the other two stars at points one and two.  Gavin was betting that the Star Colonel was initiating a round-robin series of star-to-star battles, with the victor fighting the star waiting at nav three.  The loser between Alpha and Bravo stars would replace Gavin's Charlie star while his star fought the victor.  

            This kind of tournament was only possible under training conditions.  Powered-down lasers, and dummy autocannon shells and missiles did virtually no real damage, so the 'mechs could fight all day under such conditions.  The exercise network would effectively reset so that both sides were undamaged and ammunition magazines were refilled.  Because "exercise" autocannon rounds and missiles took up so little space, the network actually locked up weapons once they used up their normal allotment of ammunition, because a 'mech would have to fire for a very long time with exercise rounds to use all of them up.  In the same way all of the 'mechs had their heat dissipation rates lowered to comply with the lower heat build-up of weapons at exercise levels.  The system would also "paint" explosions onto the 'mechs for more realism.

            "Alpha and Bravo stars will engage each other on my command.  Charlie star, you will engage the winner of this battle once I give the order."  Gavin keyed his radio over to Moon's frequency.

            "Aff, Star Colonel."

            "Alpha and Bravo stars, engage!"

            The two groups of 'mechs began to close with each other.  As the range closed to about eight hundred meters, the two groups of 'mechs let fly with their long-range weaponry.  Several large laser and PPC beams flashed out from both sides, knocking off armor on several 'mechs.  Still, the two sides advanced on each other.  

            The lead Bravo, a _Gargoyle_, and Moon's _Dire Wolf_ fired on each other.  The stuttering beam of a large pulse laser and the electric-blue bolt of a PPC crashed into the massive Omni, while another PPC beam passed just to the right of the _Dire Wolf_'s back-canting legs.  Moon's return fire wreaked havoc on the smaller, but more agile _Gargoyle_, pulse laser fire paring armor from its legs and torso.  A gauss slug hissed its way through the air just above the _Gargoyle_'s cockpit, and another pulse laser chewed up the dirt around the 'mech's feet.  Other 'mechs attacked each other, but Gavin was more interested in the face off between the two commanders.  He was certain Star Commander Aurin was at the controls of the _Gargoyle-A_ that valiantly exchanged shots with the heavier _Dire Wolf_.  Aurin cut off to the right at a near right angle to Moon.  Gavin realized the two 'mechs were more or less matched at long range, but letting Moon use his streak missile launchers would probably end the battle for Aurin.  Staying at range favored the more mobile _Gargoyle_, while the _Dire Wolf_ would have to run full speed to make itself a difficult target.  The two commanders swapped shots.  

            Aurin's _Gargoyle_ let fly with its paired PPCs and large pulse laser, just as Moon's gauss rifle found its mark on the right flank and a pulse laser flickered armor off the left arm.  Moon found his _Dire Wolf_ in serious trouble as one of the PPC beams again hit the right torso, leaving the area with little protection against more attacks.  If Aurin managed to destroy the right flank, Moon would lose the use of his arm and its array of large pulse lasers.  As it was, Moon's own shots had damaged the smaller 'mech in a number of different locations, but leaving no place in such trouble as the _Dire Wolf's_ right torso.  

            Aurin continued his drift to the right, but he was beginning to have heat problems and his 'mech slowed down slightly.  Moon ran his _Dire Wolf_ forward, hoping to capitalize on his subordinate's heat troubles.  Aurin cut loose with a PPC shot that nailed the larger 'mech on its centerline and then a pulse laser blast that played its fire over the right arm.  _Moon must be thanking anything he can think of for Aurin's miss._  Moon's return shots put Aurin in more serious trouble.  A gauss slug stripped the _Gargoyle_'s left arm of protection and began working on the myomer muscles underneath.  Aurin also lost the rest of the protection on both of his side torsos.  _Lose both flanks and he is just as down as if he lost the center torso._  The _Gargoyle_ twisted to present its less-damaged right arm to Moon, and again hammered at the _Dire Wolf_ with its powerful beam weapons.  The paired PPC shots and strobing laser beam all hit with precision accuracy on Moon's vulnerable right flank.  The _Dire Wolf_'s arm went limp, and Gavin read sudden heat spikes in the assault Omni's core temperature.  Unfortunately for Star Commander Aurin, his superior officer had managed to fire the trio of pulse lasers before the arm lost power.  From what Gavin's sensors could determine, Moon's laser shots had crippled one of the _Gargoyle_'s shorter-range lasers and knocked more armor off the centerline and one of the legs.  The situation changed drastically at the moment Logan Moon fired his Gauss Rifle.  The shot hit Aurin's 'mech on the left leg that had just been stripped of protection by a pulse laser.  The leg totally locked up, Gavin supposed the shot would have blown the leg off in real combat.  Aurin made a valiant attempt to remain standing, but his efforts were in vain.  The eighty-ton 'mech crashed to the ground, and Logan Moon's _Dire Wolf_ advanced like a massive condor about to feast on the carrion of the battlefield.  

            Aurin suddenly posted off of his 'mech's battered left arm and snapped off a pair of PPC shots just as a cloud of dummy missiles erupted from the _Dire Wolf_'s left shoulder mount.  Gavin's 'mech painted a series of explosions on both combatants and waited expectantly for his sensors to update the simulated damage done to both 'mechs.

            This time, Aurin's _Gargoyle_ was down for good as its engine shut down.  Logan Moon's _Dire Wolf_ was in marginally better shape, but the mammoth 'mech had more protection on its rear than on its front torso.  

            Gavin turned his attention to the other battles.  A smoking _Summoner_ reconfigured as a missile boat stood victorious over a _Mad Dog_ from Alpha star, while a _Warhawk-A_ from Alpha and a _Gargoyle-C_ from Bravo duked it out.  A _Timberwolf_ and a _Cauldron Born_ from Alpha star and a _Hellbringer _and a _Dire Wolf_ from Bravo lay defeated in the field.  Gavin watched the _Summoner_ as it opened up on the Star Colonel's battered 'mech.  An anti-missile system roared to life as Moon returned fire.  The AMS knocked down one of the missile flights, but many, many more dummy rockets arced into the damaged 'mech than the defensive system shot down.  Both the _Dire Wolf_ and the _Summoner_ collapsed.  Neither 'mech would rise for the duration of the exercise.  A missile hit had shut down Moon's fusion engine, while Logan Moon's gauss rifle had shattered the _Summoner-B_'s center torso.  _Now it is down to the other _Gargoyle_ and _Warhawk _to determine who my star faces.  On one hand, I would be expected to go up against the Star Colonel's _Dire Wolf_.  That monstrosity is deadly at long range, while I have just one large pulse laser to answer him until I manage to close.  And I have to start at a full kilometer's distance from him.  In city fighting or a jungle situation, I would have the advantage.  Out on this open plain I have to take whatever he throws at me._  _Will he be eager enough to use his missile launchers to allow me into my weapons range?  I am only marginally faster than him.  How can I handle such a monstrosity?_  

            On the battlefield, the two final Omnimechs savaged each other.  The _Gargoyle-C_, its autocannon out of ammo for the battle, blasted armor from all over the larger, bird-legged 'mech with its six medium lasers.  The _Warhawk_ fired its pair of large lasers, then a blast from its LB-X cannon, and finally a spread of streak missiles.  Gavin's sensors showed the _Gargoyle_'s center torso had been deeply penetrated by the laser hits, when the dummy missiles from the _Warhawk_ impacted on both the head and torsos, while the LB-X slug round tagged the humanoid 'mech on its autocannon-bearing arm.  The _Gargoyle_ collapsed, the torque from the arm hit making the 'mech appear as if it had just fallen out of a pirouette.  Either the computer had determined the head shots would have knocked the pilot unconscious, or would have damaged the fusion engine, or both.  A voice rang over the command frequency.

            "Exercise complete.  Alpha star has won the engagement."

            "Charlie Star, move to nav one.  The engagement will commence on my mark."

Gavin's heart nearly stopped as all of the fallen 'mechs clambered up from their supposed graves.  His sensors determined that both sides were functioning perfectly, although all were missing paint, and several had light damage to their armor from falls.  For a second, he had forgotten that this was just an exercise.  The sight of 'mechs rising from their graves like zombies was enough to put any warrior off his lunch.  Gavin silently cursed to himself as his star approached nav one, then keyed his radio.

            "Charlie Assault, it would appear we are facing Alpha star.  If anyone has any grudges they would like to take out against the Star Colonel's _Dire Wolf_, it would take a load off my mind."  Mara's voice crackled trough the radio.

            "Star Commander, do you mean to say that you are not looking forward to facing him in combat?"

            "For the first six hundred meters or so, absolutely I am not looking forward to it.  Any closer, and maybe I am not looking forward to it."  

            "Such lack of courage smacks of cowardice."  Gareth's short, snarling voice cut across the comline.  

            "Or rather, 'Mechwarrior Gaareth, I respect Logan Moon enough to know that he is a skilled warrior, and the Omnimech he pilots will make him a tough nut to crack."

            "I imagine you dislike Star Commander Aurin for engaging Moon, quiaff?"  Lise's lilting question brought a smile to Gavin's face.  Aurin had, indeed, set the pattern, at least for this engagement.

            "My counterpart in Bravo star put up a wonderful fight.  If I beat Moon, you should ask him that question about me."

            "Which one Star Commander, Aurin or Logan Moon?"

            "It is your discretion.  We wait here for the signal, quiaff?"  

Charlie Star arrived at navigational point one.  


	3. Training like Warriors, part two

            "Alpha and Charlie stars, engage!"  While the other 'mechs of Charlie star slogged forward, content to remain at long range, Gavin buried the throttle on his _Night Gyr_.  He weaved as much as possible, trying to give Logan Moon a hard target as he rushed towards the massive, bird-legged Omnimech.  His range counter ticked past eight hundred meters, and Gavin prepared for whatever the Star Colonel would throw at him at this extreme range, and tried to line his bouncing crosshairs over the outline of the massive _Dire Wolf_.  Seven hundred meters.  Closer, still.  Six hundred meters.  

            Gavin twisted his 'mech in a sudden evasive maneuver.  He needed speed, but he did not want to get pegged by Moon's gauss rifle if he could help it.  The slug flew out of the Omnimech's left arm like a meteor and barely missed catching the _Night Gyr_ in the ankle.  As Gavin continued to run forward like a berserker, a deadly pulsing rain fell around his 'mech, scorching the arm and right breast.  One of the lasers had chewed up the sod at Gavin's feet.  As long as the laser was not damaging his 'mech, it could miss wherever it wanted.  Gavin lined up his own large pulse laser, fighting his 'mech's jolting run, and sent a swarm of energy darts into the _Dire Wolf_'s left shoulder.  But Moon had another shot at him before he could get into range for the rest of his weapons.  

            Gavin watched the monster 'mech as it adjusted its arms, preparing for any other trick he might try.  It looked like Moon had lined up on a point and simply waited for Gavin to run into his crosshairs, and his weapons.  The _Dire Wolf_  plodded on towards him, waiting for him to get to that one critical point.  

            _You have jump jets._

            Gavin slammed his feet down on the floor pedals as his 'mech rose into the air, and Moon's gauss rifle again missed his left leg by centimeters.  To make up for it, a pair of pulse lasers blasted away at his right leg.  Another hit by his adversary's heavy weaponry and Moon would be into his leg structure.  As Gavin descended on his jets, he laced the _Dire Wolf_'s right arm with his pulse laser.

            _Things are about to get nasty._  Gavin landed, and got the _Night Gyr_'s legs pumping at full speed at the Star Colonel's 'mech.  _Finally_.  He was within three hundred sixty meters.  Gavin tightened down on his missiles, the streak SRM rack that acquired on Moon cut loose, and the _Dire Wolf_'s anti-missile system clawed half the flight from the air.  The three that made it through the hailstorm of bullets all hit previously undamaged sections of the 'mech.  A pair of medium pulse lasers lashed out from the _Night Gyr_'s left arm, and another strobing beam shot out from the 'mech's head.  They eliminated more armor on the center and right torsos.  Gavin felt a wave of heat as the last pulse laser fired, then the cool shiver of flowing coolant.  Finally, Gavin lined up for a shot with his devastating ultra autocannon.  _Better only fire once._  Gavin's instinct was correct, but it would have been better not to fire.  The weapon left an impressive number of craters behind and to the side of the _Dire Wolf_, but none of the rounds actually hit.  

            The computer threw Gavin's gyro out of phase as Logan Moon finally connected with his gauss rifle, this time connecting with the left leg the Star Colonel had missed twice.  Large pulse lasers blasted the _Night Gyr_'s chest, left arm, and right torso.  _I am really hurt if he gets into my autocannon ammo._  Gavin turned to present more of his less-injured left side.  It felt like presenting Moon with some kind of 'mech flesh offering.  _He has not fired his streak missiles_.  Either they had failed to get a target lock or Moon was holding them back, which made no sense.  _He certainly has the heat capacity for it_.  Gavin kept his 'mech in a run, and came ever closer to the bird-legged monstrosity known as the _Dire Wolf_.   

            This time Moon fired his SRMs, which ripped the rest of the armor off Gavin's right leg and blasted protection from plenty of other places, including the cockpit.  Shaking off the impact, Gavin looked up to see the hunched, predator form of Moon's Omnimech locking him up for the kill.  Acting on sheer instinct, Gavin fired.

            The ultra autocannon double fired, blasting the larger 'mech in the right shoulder and then the left.  Dummy missiles corkscrewed out of the _Night Gyr_ and the computer covered the other 'mech with explosions.  Pulse lasers chewed up protection on the center torso and legs.  The large pulse laser's strobing beam also laid into the _Dire Wolf_'s centerline.  

            Moon fired back as his mount wobbled and began to tilt to the left.  One pulse laser ripped more center torso armor, another hit meant Gavin's left arm was very exposed to any more attacks from the _Dire Wolf_.  As the gigantic 'mech continued to tilt, the Star Colonel triggered his gauss rifle and other pulse laser.  Both shots missed, and Gavin hoped that Moon would not get the chance to rectify his mistake as the ground slipped out from under the assault Omni's feet.  The clawed feet of the _Dire Wolf_ sent huge chunks of dirt and grass flying into the air, and one hundred tons of clan technology collapsed with a loud crash onto its side.  

            Gavin walked his 'mech forward slowly, aiming his weapons as Moon wrestled his 'mech back onto its feet.  Moon was just turning to face him when Gavin launched everything but his large pulse laser.  The autocannon's one-two punch sliced into the left torso, then continued on to wreak havoc on the _Dire Wolf_'s forward-projecting, conical nose.  For the second time that day, Logan Moon found himself without an arm or even a side torso.  The computer flooded Moon's 'mech with heat, giving Gavin's streak missiles a fine target to lock on to.  Moon's anti missile system had been damaged even before Gavin had removed the left torso, so Moon was left to face the wrath of the SRMs unaided.  The swarm of missiles further eroded the armor all over the _Dire Wolf_, and Gavin's medium pulse lasers finished the job the autocannon had started on the massive 'mech's engine.  Moon fired his lasers as his 'mech died around him.  

            Gavin lost most of the protection remaining on his left leg, and another hit disabled one of the jump jets in the right.  The last pulse laser lanced into the _Night Gyr_'s left arm and the computer informed Gavin one of his medium pulse lasers was inoperative.  Smiling, he turned his 'mech around to see how his lancemates were doing.  

            Gavin turned in time to see Mara's _Executioner-A_ finish off the sole survivor of the first battle, a _Warhawk-A_, with a devastating pulse laser barrage.  Gareth's _Kingfisher_ _prime_ had apparently fallen victim to the _Vulture-B_ that lay at the feet of Hayt's _Warhawk_.  Hayt had also made short work of a _Cauldron-Born Prime_.  Lise still battled with a _Timberwolf Prime_ that was using its extra speed to give her slower _Warhawk_ trouble.  Both 'mechs had been heavily damaged, but Lise seemed to be getting the better of things.  She had just sent a pair of PPC blasts into the _Timberwolf_'s torso, Gavin's sensors showed severe structural damage.  The elegant, bird-like 'mech pivoted and fired what were probably its last LRM flights.  They carved into Lise's thicker-bodied machine, doing horrific damage to it.  The left arm suddenly dropped and hung like a dead thing at the _Warhawk_'s side, useless.  With her left arm out of commission, Lise looked to be losing, unless she could pull off a lucky shot.  The _Timberwolf_ advanced, sending large and medium lasers to eat into the center torso of the _Warhawk_.  Lise returned fire with her two remaining PPCs as the _Warhawk_ shut down, its engine breached.  The attacks left the _Timberwolf_ with a damaged hip actuator and a limp right arm.  

            _Do I declare it?  Both of us are hurt.  I am within weapons range.  I am Clan.  I must fight._

            "The _Timberwolf _is mine!"  Gavin shouted into the radio and ran his damaged _Night Gyr_ towards the limping, but still elegant, and deadly 'mech.  The _Timberwolf_ pilot pivoted on its stiffened leg to face Gavin's charging 'mech.  Both warriors fired.

            At least ten separate warning lights went off in Gavin's cockpit as the long, green swaths of grass filled his viewport.  He verbally ticked off the damage to his 'mech.

            "Left arm, gone, left foot is gone, engine hit but not out, right streak launcher, out.  Come on, baby, get up."  Gavin wrestled with the controls, trying to get his 'mech to its feet.  His balky left foot carved a long furrow in the ground as the _Night Gyr_ finally got in a position to fire its weapons.

            The _Timberwolf_ stared at him from its kneeling position, its stiff leg acting like a gigantic crutch while the 'mech essentially squatted on its other leg.  Gavin was reminded of an old, 2-D picture of an ancient sport called baseball, with a player called a catcher lunging to the side to catch a wild ball.  The _Timberwolf_ was in a near-perfect replica of the position.  

            Its left arm weapons pod slowly swung towards him.  Gavin twisted the torso to bring more of his less-injured right side into view.  A cloud of missiles erupted from the _Night Gyr_'s left breast, while the autocannon's double-action made the right arm seemingly suffer a nervous fit.  The head-mounted pulse laser literally spat energy at Gavin's opponent.  Gavin saw the stream of autocannon slugs tear into the 'mech, and watched as the computer painted explosions all over his foe.  The laser's coruscating beam hit the _Timberwolf_'s already injured leg, while the missiles blew structure from all over the torso.  But his autocannon shot had been true.  The torso, denuded of all armor from his and Lise's attacks, could not stand up to the pounding the massive ultra gun could dish out.  

            _Of course, in my current shape, a _Firemoth _could probably finish me off._  The _Timberwolf_ pilot had not missed his last laser shots.  His engine had taken another critical hit, and one of his ammunition bins –one that was "empty," thankfully– had been blasted.  

            "Exercise complete.  Charlie Star has won the engagement.  Alpha Star, proceed to nav three.  Charlie Star, proceed to nav two.  Bravo Star, proceed to nav one.  The next engagement will commence on my mark."  Moon's voice came strong over the comline, which surprised Gavin.  He was drenched with sweat and breathing hard, but realized that the Star Colonel had been sitting in the cockpit of his downed 'mech catching his breath while Gavin had engaged the _Timberwolf_.  The _Night Gyr_'s displays shifted slightly, and suddenly everything was new and undamaged.  Gavin savored the experience, because he knew it would never happen during a real battle.  His allotted ammunition flashed back up to full, his armor diagram was a healthy green, his foot was back, his arm was back, his lasers and missile launcher were back, it was a wonderful dream come almost-true for Gavin.  He swung the _Night Gyr_ back around towards nav one.

            "Charlie star, let us return to navigational point one, quiaff?"

            "Aff, sir."  Gavin heard the pride in Hayt's voice, and in his own as well.  Alpha Star's 'mechwarriors were some of the clan's best, just like the rest of the sixth Jaguar Dragoons.  There was nothing like victory over dangerous and skilled foes, even in an exercise, to get the blood going and the heart swelling with pride.

            Gavin caught himself humming a line from Rika's music.  _I do not hum.  I never hum.  Why am I humming, and why am I humming that freebirth's music?  It is not to relieve boredom, neg.  I am full of the excitement of battle and victory, and I need to find a way to defeat that _Gargoyle_.  So why am I humming?  Even if it is freebirth music, it is beautiful music.  Maybe that is why I am humming it.  It is still beautiful._  

            Gavin turned his thoughts to Star Commander Aurin and his _Gargoyle-A_, and how he could possibly expect to defeat an opponent that not only out-ranged him, but was faster than him as well.

*

            The trinary that marched back to the base was not the trinary that had left it.  The other trinary had been gleaming and freshly-painted, the gigantic war machines glided across the grassy fields in a mechanical ballet of 'mech artistry.  This trinary slogged in from the fields, paint totally gone.  The 'mechs were only moderately damaged from falls and occasional collisions, but they were covered in a mass of tiny scars and holes, covered in hundreds of 'mech-scale paper cuts.  Although the damage was not so serious, it looked as if the trinary had been left out in the sun to melt and wither ever so slightly.  Patches of mud and grass clung to arms and legs.  Gun ports and missile tubes were surrounded by a halo of black soot from weapons fire.  

            "This is Star Colonel Logan Moon to 'mech bay.  We are bringing back our Omnimechs, in top condition."  Everyone listening to the frequency, with the exception of the technicians, laughed at this comment.  Moon switched over to the Trinary's frequency.  "Well fought today, warriors.  The heart of the Jaguar truly beats inside your chests.  By maintaining our edge, we assure ourselves our spot on terra and the glory of becoming the ilClan.  Tomorrow we will conduct a full-scale review of today's exercises, but today you are all dismissed once we reach the 'mech bay.  Meet tomorrow in the main briefing room at eleven hundred hours, after morning drills.  Quiaff?"

            "Aff."  The trinary's warriors replied as one.  Gavin walked his 'mech into the bay and into its usual spot.  He locked the legs, then shut down the behemoth machine.  The rumble of the engine dying always sent a pang of regret into his heart.  

            Sighing, he slouched back in the command console and removed the neurohelmet, unplugged his cooling vest, and stood up.  The sensation in his back and legs told him just how long he had been inside the cockpit of the _Night Gyr_.  He had to grab onto the edge of the accessway to steady himself before walking out of the scaffolding.  Upon reaching the bottom, he slung his cooling vest into the rack on the 'mech bay wall, hung his neurohelmet on an frame for just that purpose, and pulled out his jumpsuit, and slid into it like it was an old, discarded skin.  A massive weariness descended upon him, from the long day spent training.  It was a good weariness.  The ache was an utter exhaustion of mind and body, an exhaustion that Gavin equated with a worthwhile day's training, a sharpening of claws and teeth.  The lead technician for his 'mech approached.  Gavin waved him off.

            "Fix it.  You know how to, quiaff?  You are a technician.  Fix it and do not bother me."  The technician, half relieved at not having to converse with this tired warrior, half angry at being brushed off, decided to walk away and start working on the _Night Gyr_.

            Gavin ticked items off on his fingers.  

            "One, I need to shower.  Two, I need some food.  Three, I want some rest."  Gavin looked about for a chronometer.  He was not sure what time it was.  He looked outside, at the shafts of sunlight that slanted sharply into the bay.  _Late afternoon._  His back and legs ached and rejoiced at their sudden freedom from the 'mech cockpit.  They stopped rejoicing around the time Gavin reached the stairs to the barracks.  They merely trudged their way through the main lobby, and finally rejoiced upon crossing the threshold of his quarters.

            _Shower first._  Gavin tossed his gunbelt onto the bed and trudged back out the door, and to the changing area.  Every floor was equipped with a large, central, communal bathroom to avoid the waste of having individual lavatory facilities for everyone in the building.  Many 'mechwarriors had already returned from their day's training, so the changing room was a bustle of activity.  

            Tired out 'mechwarriors, male and female, stripped and changed and talked among the rows of lockers.  Elementals mingled among the 'mechwarriors, although there were fewer of them since their training schedules were usually different.  Gavin spotted one of the 'mechwarriors from the striker trinary arguing with an elemental over who was stronger.  The 'mechwarrior maintained that he was stronger, because he had more muscle in relation to his body size, while the elemental claimed that sheer strength was more important than relative strength.  _Good points, both_.  Gavin stripped out of his clothing and walked over to a shower unit, ignoring the comments on the day's trials from his fellow warriors.

            Paulus finally spun him around and grabbed his arm.  

            "I heard you beat the Star Colonel in trinary exercises today, quiaff?"

            "Aff, and he beat me right back the next time."  Gavin shook his head, remembering the next disastrous run-in with the _Dire Wolf_.  He had just hit the seven hundred meter mark when Moon had pegged his cockpit with the gauss rifle.  

            "Immaterial.  Everyone gets lucky shots."

            "Somehow, I think Logan Moon would disagree with you."  Gavin dislodged Paulus' arm and stepped into the shower unit.  He twisted and pulled the knob at the base of the unit, which sent hot water pouring from the shower head.  The twist controlled temperature, and pull controlled volume.  Gavin felt like he was sitting under a near-scalding waterfall, and he liked the feeling.  The torrent of water massaged his bruised flesh, tired from being tossed around inside the cockpit.  He hit the soap dispenser, and a liquid gel sprayed out onto his hand.  The one-application gel worked on hair, skin, and everything in between.  Having separate products for bodily hygiene was wasteful.  Gavin cut the water pressure so that he could lather himself, and rejoiced as the sticky residue of exertion was carried away by the shower.  The film of odoriferous sweat that always clung to him after a 'mech battle was one of the main reasons he felt tired: his skin itself felt worn.  Gavin pulled the control knob back to full bore, literally blasting the accumulated grime off his body.  

            He was humming again!    


	4. Performance Night

            _St. Vincent is not so boring anymore,_ Gavin thought to himself as he stepped through the quiet streets.  _Of course, the prospect of action is enough to make any planet more exciting_.  

            Along with the news of Lincoln Osis' elevation to ilKhan, some of the clan worlds had reported attempted raids by trinary-sized units from the inner sphere.  Such a doubled prospect of action quickened Gavin's heart.  He felt like a Jaguar hunting at the verge of dawn, greeted with the scent of prey.  All he had to do was endure, and the prey might come to him.  The Jaguar might even stalk through the inky blackness of the universe, taking down planets with ruthless efficiency.  Such a hunt was well worth waiting for.

            Oddly enough, Gavin found himself considering the civilian side of the invasion.  On some worlds, the fierce fighting had gutted industrial and residential centers, killing hundreds, if not thousands of civilians.  With disgust the 'mechwarrior thought of Turtle Bay, and the commander who had annihilated the city of Edo with a warship.  Such wasteful killing of civilians who knew no better angered Gavin.  He had heard reports of action on Hyner, and the destruction of civilian townships.  

            On one hand, he sympathized with the commanding officers, who had been fed up with the annoying resistance some of the little surats put up.  Such belligerence towards warriors was totally and completely uncalled for.  On the other hand, these civilians were being stirred up by filthy bandits, survivors of the initial invasion that had fled instead of fighting to the death.  It was the nature of the lower castes to support whatever position benefited them the most.  The civilians of the inner sphere were like Gill-manders.  The soft-bodied amphibians lived completely underwater.  Although they could survive on land, the 'manders would rush back to a body of water at the earliest opportunity.  Over time, however, the Gill-manders became used to the land, and rarely went back into the water.  The new lower castemen, given sufficient time, would realize that the Clans were superior to the Inner Sphere in the same way the Gill-Manders discovered that it was easier to live on land than underwater.  

            _When they cease to think of us as predators who will crush them, they will cease attempting to flee back to the Inner Sphere.  _

            Gavin was a predator.  But he was a different kind of predator.  He preyed upon other predators.  Other 'mech pilots, flyers, elementals, even the warriors of the inner sphere.  _Here it is_.

            The crowd in the restaurant was low, but that crowd included a couple of the Sixth's warriors.  With a start, Gavin recognized Star Colonel Logan Moon sitting at a table in the back of the main dining area.  Joanna Perez was there as well, along with Star Captain Edick Showers, commander of Bravo Battle Trinary.  

            _The Star Colonel may not want me hanging around him, especially when he is meeting with Star Captains.  On the other hand, he might believe I am snubbing him._  

            Gavin shrugged, and ordered a table near the piano.  Hopefully, Rika would be here tonight.  If the Star Colonel wanted Gavin's presence, he could invite the junior officer over.  

            The main dining hall was impressive with its high ceiling and Grecian columns.  From the waiting room, one descended a short staircase to the actual level of the floor, making the ceiling more impressive.  Around the circular stage that occupied the center of the room stood circular tables, scattered in clusters of two or three and suitable four up to four people.  On level with the actual entrance, separated from the main room by a low balcony that strung its way between each column, was a second tier of tables.  This secondary area was darkly lit, focusing the attention on the center of the room and the stage that occupied it.  The entire room was lavishly decorated in gold-embroidered red fabric that complemented the grandiose columns and made the area feel positively imperial.  

            The waiter spoke properly without stammering, which improved Gavin's opinion of the place immeasurably.  After ordering a roast pikemanfish, potatoes au gratin, and a light wine, he settled down to enjoy the dinner, and wait for Rika's appearance.  

            He had just cleared the last bit of food from his plate and ordered dessert when she appeared, clad in a long, low-cut dress that shimmered, but it was impossible to tell what color the material was.  When the lights dimmed, and the pianist set up her large E-reader, the dress began to glow.  Refracted light of all colors flashed over the dress every time Rika moved.  The display reminded Gavin of the aurora that cloaked his _Night Gyr_ during night operations.  The dress turned into a sheathe of flame, then a cloak of green-blue watery depths, a deep royal violet, and a hundred other variations and patterns as the shades of visible light waged war, clashing and blending and swirling against and among each other.  Gavin was so distracted by Rika's dress that he never noticed exactly when Rika began playing.

            The onset of the music took him so suddenly it felt like a trap door had opened up under his consciousness and sent it plummeting into an atmosphere of sound.  It was the same kind of music he had heard before, but it was also different.  The speed, the key, everything about the music was different except the flow of it.  Under the tutelage of Rika's slender fingers the audible stream rushed into a river and came hurtling down the heights of passion into an abyss of dark and darkly moving sadness.  The sounds created any of a hundred emotions- love, sorrow, joy, sickness, disillusionment, enchantment, beauty.  Sharper than any blade, the edge of the music twisted and cut straight to Gavin's heart, then refused the merciful killing and soared and swooped and struck again, then changed its tack and sent his mind reeling back and soaring in every possible direction.

            The slice of chocolate ore pie went neglected for a span of hours as its buyer lost himself in Rika's music.

*

            Gavin sat at his table, lost in thought.  Rika's performance had already ended, it left him to deal with the emotions it had stirred up.  

"Star Commander Gavin."  Gavin looked around and was greeted with an excellent view of Star Captain Joanna Perez's muscular thighs and pelvis.  The massive Elemental bent forward slightly, the height difference between 'mechwarrior and elemental exacerbated when the former sat and the latter stood.  "The Star Colonel wishes that you would join us at his table."  Surprised by the elemental and surprised by the offer, Gavin hesitated for a second.

            "Affirmative."  The elemental nodded and stalked, cat-like, back to Moon's table.  Gavin sighed, rose from his chair, and followed her.

             Logan Moon, whose dark, bronzed skin appeared even darker in the dimmed light greeted Gavin with as he neared the table.

            "Star Commander Gavin, it would seem another clan officer has fallen under the spell of that instrument and its mistress, quiaff?"

            "Aff.  Given the ability of the performance, and the beauty of the music, I can only assume this is a condition I share with you, Star Colonel."

            "Aff.  It is the reason I enjoy this place."

            "It makes one think differently about the lower castes."

            "How so?  Speak on, Star Commander."

            "Here is a person who has dedicated herself to something capable of moving the greatest warriors to their knees.  The training must have taken years.  This artist is someone who has undergone a completely different kind of training, in a field that in no way resembles our own, and yet the practice and time must have taken years and required a level of dedication comparable to becoming a warrior."

            "Interesting.  I see your point.  The music does add a new dimension to life."

            "It should be considered wasteful," interjected Star Captain Edick Showers, "but I hesitate to characterize it as such."

            "Waste implies uselessness.  Yet there are certainly merits to music.  I consider the past few hours well-spent."  Said the Star Colonel, looking deeply into his glass of Illytia wine.  The dark liquid drank as much light as Moon's gaze, and Gavin got the feeling that here was another Smoke Jaguar who deviated from the mold of the clan warrior.  The elemental Star Captain spoke her thoughts.

            "Aff, the music was beautiful, but I do not see that it has a use."

            "It certainly sounds better than the alarms in my 'mech cockpit."

            "Aff, Edick Showers, but those alarms are what keep you alive.  What use is this music before a battle?" Questioned the elemental.  "It is certainly pretty, and difficult to perform, but what lies in it besides those qualities?"

            "I think, Joanna Perez, that I may possess the answer to your question."  Logan Moon spoke carefully, phrasing his thoughts with precision.  "In ancient times, armies played certain kinds of music before battles, in an attempt to give themselves a psychological edge.  In the days before such simple communication devices as the radio were developed, bugles were used to signal orders to an army.  Here are two ways in which music has shown itself useful."

            "I doubt the effect on morale."

            Gavin broke in, saying "Was not some small part of you affected by the music we have heard, quiaff?"

            "Star Commander, that is a purely emotional response."

            "So you claim, Star Captain, that emotions do not affect your actions.  I do not think you would be a warrior if you did not enjoy battle.  Enjoyment is an emotion."

            "I shall grant you that point, Star Commander."  Gavin fought to keep a smile from his face at Joanna's acquiescence.  

            "You may have to grant him other points besides that one, Joanna Perez.  Gavin can be tenacious both in and outside of the cockpit."  

            "I would be more relaxed outside of combat if you fired your gauss rifle less often."  Moon got the gibe, but the other commanders did not, they had not been present during Alpha Trinary's unit exercises two days ago.  

            "I merely reminded you of the shortcomings of a short-range weapons configuration."  Logan Moon glanced at the two Star Captains to see if they understood the joke.  "In our last set of unit exercises, I had to fend off both of my Star Commanders several times."  Joanna Perez looked surprised, but Edick Showers' grimace showed he sympathized with the Star Colonel.

            "Aff, everyone wants to prove himself against the commanding officer."  Showers looked straight at Gavin.  "It can be very tiring."  Gavin raised his hands in a gesture of innocence.

            "You should talk to Star Commander Aurin, then.  He set the precedent by taking on the Star Colonel's _Dire Wolf_ in his _Gargoyle_.  If I did not do the same in my _Night Gyr_, I would have been ridiculed for my excessive timidity.  Now, I am simply chastened for being overbold."  

            "You should let some of your starmates have the opportunity as well."

            "They declined, despite the fact that they all pilot designs heavier than my own."  Gavin smiled ruefully at Logan Moon.  "I think some of them might have been more eager if you had not dropped my 'mech flat that second time, Star Colonel.  If I had taken you down twice in a row, they would have begun clamoring for the honor."

            "Gavin, what you fail to recognize is that by taking you out, I gave the rest of your star the same opportunity."  Logan Moon smiled with an expression that would have stopped a pouncing jaguar in midair.  

            "As much as I wish it were unnecessary, it is a good lesson for them.  There is no guarantee that my 'mech will not be taken out by such a lucky shot early in the battle."

            "Luck had little to do with it."

            "'Little' is still the difference between a head shot and a torso hit."

            "I will drink to that."  Said Joanna Perez.  "What you experienced, 'mechwarrior, is the chief fear of every elemental ever spawned.  The gauss slug that comes out of nowhere before you have a chance to react.  The laser hit that picks you out from the rest of your point.  The missile that blows off your leg or arm, and leaves you useless and bleeding on the battlefield."

            "Aye," said Showers, " the shot that gets through your armor and wrecks the gyroscope."

            "The mine that takes off your leg."  Logan Moon chimed in.

            "The freebirth artillery you cannot fire back at."  Said Gavin.

            "The flyer's strafing run."

            Logan Moon raised his glass.  

            "To the chaos and suddenness of war: may it always be in our favor and never turn against us." 

            The four wineglasses clinked together, and the four warriors drained them.

            "Seyla." Gavin breathed.  

*

Underneath the clouded sky of Huntress moved a brown-blonde youth of thirteen.  He slipped through the trees stealthily, a shadow among great black shadows that dripped water into pools at their roots.  The trees of Huntress had massive trunks and thick limbs and boughs, their broad leaves wet with the rain that looked like it would fall yet again.  The wilds of the Shikari Jungle fascinated him.  At night in the barracks he could hear the far-off calls of hunting smoke jaguars, the cries of other animals, the wind, the rain, everything from the jungles.  He nearly tripped over another member of the sibko.

            "Ara?  That is you, quiaff?"  She whirled to her feet.

            "Aff.  Gavin?"

            "Aff.  What are you doing here?"

            "It is not your concern."

            "Neg, it is it not, but I am interested anyway."

            "I am doing nothing.  I simply enjoy it here, and I want you to leave."  She stepped forward, half a meter from him.  Water ran in rivulets down her face, droplets were scattered all over his.  In the shifting of the light, something in her light green eyes sparked, and reflected a mirror image in his colder blue.  

            "Coupling, quiaff?"  She nodded.

            "I heard some of the others have already tried it.  Have you?"

            "Not yet."

            "Well then."  They both looked around.  The ground was a mess of roots, mud, and small leafy green plants.  "This is not quite the best place to encounter you in, Gavin."  

            "The tree limbs are close together."

            "In a tree?"  She raised a quizzical eyebrow.  He grinned.  

            "Like Jaguars."  Gavin made a low growling sound in the back of his throat.  The smile she flashed at him was brilliant, even if her teeth were not all straight.  Warrior training was harsh.  He placed his hand on a  massive knob of bark and began pulling himself up the trunk, reaching the lowest and thickest branch.  He began unzipping his jumpsuit as she climbed up.  After peeling off his boots and hanging them from the limb, he stripped off the jumpsuit and laid it over the rough bark.  Gavin and Ara had stood there looking at each other, unsure what to do next.  Then Gavin had pressed her back to the tree trunk, reached for the zipper on her jumpsuit, and slowly pulled it down.  Their lips met in a kiss, and although they had seen each other naked hundreds of times in the changing rooms, this time they felt the press of flesh on their own.

            The first time… Gavin had no idea if other warriors ever remembered their first time.  Of course, not many warriors' first times were in a tree in the Shikari Jungle, so Gavin supposed he had a little extra to remind him.  Now, as he looked at the softly breathing female form laying beside him, with her hair and her now-closed eyes so like Ara's, he could not help but recall the event.

            Now it seemed to him that Rika's music, the haunting, enchanting music had been played to him that first night with Ara as well, only he had never thought to listen for it.  The music stayed with him even as Gavin dropped off into sleep.


End file.
